After the ICC Board decided in November to move the event from Sri Lanka, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has released a revised schedule for the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024. It confirms five venues in South Africa that will host the 15th edition of the renowned event between January 19 and February 11, 2024.
The world’s most promising young cricket players will battle it out for the trophy in 41 matches played at prestigious international locations: Willowmoore Park in Benoni, which has been chosen to host the semi-finals on February 6 and 8, the final on February 11, Buffalo Park in East London, Kimberley Oval in Kimberley, JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom, and Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein.
According to the revised schedule, the hosts will begin their campaign in Potchefstroom against the West Indies on opening day, and the reigning champions, India, will begin their title defense a day later against Bangladesh, the previous winners who won the trophy when the tournament was last held in South Africa in 2020.
This edition of the competition will include a new format: teams that advance from the group stages will compete in a new Super Six stage that begins on January 30. The objective of this stage is to select which two groups of six teams will advance to the semi-finals and the subsequent finals.
Holders in India are joined in Group A of the group listings by Bangladesh, Ireland, and the United States. England, South Africa, the West Indies, and Scotland make up Group B. Australia, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, and Namibia are in Group C, and Afghanistan, Pakistan, New Zealand, and Nepal are in Group D.
“We have seen South Africa successfully deliver two milestone events for the sport in the past 12 months,” said Chris Tetley, Head of Events at ICC: “The first ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup last year, and the groundbreaking ICC Women’s T20 World Cup that followed.”
“By moving the U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024 to South Africa, we will have the chance to capitalize on this momentum and invite the world’s top young players to five prestigious international locations.
With spectators able to see these players in action for free, this tournament has a long history of introducing the brightest new talent to the world stage. We are confident that this year will be an exciting one.
“As Cricket South Africa, we are humbled by the ICC’s show of confidence in our abilities to stage international cricket events,” Tournament Director Wanele Mngomezulu continued.
Even though we have been given a very short schedule to host the U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2024, we are excited to take on the challenge. We have the chance to hone our abilities and skills even more by hosting this tournament in the lead-up to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, which will take place in South Africa in 2027.
“We can promote cricket to South Africans who love sports and draw new fans and young talent to the game by hosting the tournament on home soil, which will advance our strategic pillars of excellence, access, and inclusion.”
Each participating team will play two practice matches in Johannesburg and Pretoria from January 13 to January 17, one week before to the competition.
For many years, the U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup served as a launching pad for some of the most well-known players in the world. After winning the 2014 competition, when future Proteas players Aiden Markram and Kagiso Rabada made their international debuts, South Africa will be attempting to win their second U19 crown.
India has won five U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup championships, making them the most decorated team in event history. Australia has won three times, Pakistan twice, England, Bangladesh, the West Indies, and South Africa, the host nation in 2024, have all won once.
India
